To explain, it's not so much "hate" as it is frustration. I loved the music/sound effects and atmosphere. Those were bang-on greatness. But then there was the little kid ghost, then the biker ghost, then Darth Maul, then old witch, then psychotic family, then old lady with a gas mask on, then people using an adjective as a noun. "Further". What the fuck is wrong with Purgatory or Limbo all of a sudden? Why give it a new name? It just struck me as a hipster idea thrown in there to try and make what was going on sound more profound and original than it actually was. By the end of it, Insidious had pulled itself apart with too many of it's own ideas that I was annoyed. And THAT pisses me off exponentially more because it was such a shame for what the film had going for it, to be brought down with the rest of the ship.

To explain, it's not so much "hate" as it is frustration. I loved the music/sound effects and atmosphere. Those were bang-on greatness. But then there was the little kid ghost, then the biker ghost, then Darth Maul, then old witch, then psychotic family, then old lady with a gas mask on, then people using an adjective as a noun. "Further". What the fuck is wrong with Purgatory or Limbo all of a sudden? Why give it a new name? It just struck me as a hipster idea thrown in there to try and make what was going on sound more profound and original than it actually was. By the end of it, Insidious had pulled itself apart with too many of it's own ideas that I was annoyed. And THAT pisses me off exponentially more because it was such a shame for what the film had going for it, to be brought down with the rest of the ship.

If you liked Amityville I and II, Dead Silence and films of that nature I would venture you will not find too much to complain about with The Conjuring.

What gives Insidious the upper hand over The Conjuring, which by the way after one viewing would rank 3rd for me after Saw. Is that the conjuring felt a bit too safe. Sure it had less flaws but with Insidouis he didn't seem afraid to swing for the fences. Not everything worked but what did resulting in half a dozen scenes which were more memorable than any scene in The Conjuring for me.

I voted for Dead Silence. And I probably always will...until I see The Conjuring. Because it's a bigger improvement after Saw than Insidious was after Dead Silence. Silence is bad but it is shocking how entertaining it is. Insidious is easily better but I actually felt even less about the characters. And I spent a great amount of time sitting there re-writing the dialogue to myself, especially during the Lynn Shaye scenes. For scenes that ripped off Poltergeist, it forgot about really engaging our imaginations for what was in that "terrifying" nether-region where the boy's spirit wandered off. Then when the father goes into it... we get nothing. The movie wasted a lot of time with boring characters. But...at least it was watchable.

Saw is one of the biggest pieces of shit I've ever seen. Absolutely, utterly irredeemable.

I thought The Conjuring was decent but wasn't blown away either. Wan definitely had some effective scenes but I still think he should refrain from going so over the top as it tends to undermine the tension he creates and can sometimes feel silly. It was a step up from Insidious

Spoiler:

and kind of reminded me of Amityville II with the exorcism at the end.

After The Conjuring, I was craving more Vera so went back and finally watched Orphan which I thought was pretty fun and twisted.